


standard procedure

by AgentQutie



Series: 'cause everything is new (and everything is you) [1]
Category: The Flash (TV 2014)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Established Relationship, First Dates, Fluff, M/M, Mentions of Violence, Post-Season/Series 01, barely but just to be sure
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-08-31
Updated: 2018-08-31
Packaged: 2019-07-05 02:36:28
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,916
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/15854487
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AgentQutie/pseuds/AgentQutie
Summary: It's not like Len wants to go on a date.





	standard procedure

_Step one: make the plan._

For all that they've been dating for just shy of two months, Len and Barry have never gone on an actual _date._ There's plenty of reasons for this: hectic schedules, neither of them being exactly what you'd call _conventional_ as far as their work goes, the risk of someone recognising Len and calling the cops. Etcetera.

Len himself, of course, isn't bothered by this. What a laughable idea. He's only concerned that Barry, with all his romantic notions, might be. And if that's true, the obvious remedy is to go on a date. And if they're gonna go to all that trouble, it might as well be a damn good one.

It's not exactly an urgent matter, so Len mulls it over in his head for some time without mentioning anything to Barry. He has a distaste for sharing half-baked plans when so many things could still change.

Clearly the Flash and Captain Cold will both need to have the night off. For his part, it's not like Len’s planning heists every other day. It's the preparation that takes up most of the time. That, and overseeing the Rogues, but he can let Lisa and Mick hold the fort for one night and be reasonably sure nobody will start shit. (If not, well, his sister and best friend can take the others in a fight).

But even with his Rogues out of the streets, there will be plenty other crime for the Flash to fight. On the condition that there's no metas on the loose or major, city-wide disasters, Barry could be persuaded to leave it to the police. Let them do their actual jobs for once.

And then, on the subject of cops, it's imperative that they don't cross paths with any. Len isn't as concerned about being arrested -- he's proven his capabilities as an escape artist, after all -- as he is about the shitstorm that would come from someone in the CCPD seeing him and Barry together.

Being a criminal, you learn to frequent places the police avoids. Most of those joints, though, the thought of taking Barry there makes him recoil. He wouldn't even go on his own except on business. Not that he can't handle it, but they're messy and detrimental to a pleasant night out.

Saints and Sinners would be the obvious choice; it's Len’s favourite and he's a regular. The people there know him well enough to know not to talk. But they also know him well enough to maybe be curious about him bringing along a beautiful, decidedly un-criminal and out of his element man. Probably harmless, but he’d rather not play twenty questions. And Barry’s visited there before, which doesn't help matters.

In the end, he settles on a nice restaurant, where the owners know _of_ him but don't _know_ him. They get good, law-abiding clientele, mostly, but they have a sort of _understanding_ with people like Len to turn a blind eye and keep the police away, on the ground that no one brings trouble past their doors. It was Lisa’s recommendation -- apparently she's been there a couple times with the better lot of her acquaintances.

So dinner it is. And then, he figures, when they're done with that and it's late, they can take a merry little stroll around. He's reasonably sure that kind of thing is considered romantic. They can even hold hands, if only because Barry would probably manage to get lost otherwise.

A solid plan for a practical purpose.

* * *

  _Step two: execute the plan._

On good days, there's a short window of time between Barry finishing work and having to head down to STAR labs. For the past week or so, he's taken to running to Len’s apartment and spending that time curled up with him on the couch.

It's a development Len welcomes even if he'll grumble occasionally about the way Barry plasters himself all over Len, like an over-eager octopus. He has a reputation to uphold. But it's _nice._ Len relaxes best alone, always on guard around others, always posturing, but these quiet moments with Barry somehow put him at ease.

Today, Barry lies with his head pressed into Len’s side, knees pulled close to his chest. Len combs his fingers through Barry’s hair idly, an entirely unfamiliar sense of contentment sitting heavy on his chest. He doesn't know what to do with it.

“Think you can get the day off from your night job tomorrow?” he asks casually.

Barry, on the verge of falling asleep, stirs and blinks blearily at Len. “Probably. Why?”

And Len isn't _nervous_ , it's ridiculous to be nervous. “I thought we could go out.”

“Oh,” Barry says, sounding pleased. “Then scratch probably, I can absolutely do that.”

Len nods once. “Good.”

Barry huffs out a laugh, and shuffles up to peck him on the lips. “What's up with you?”

Len raises an eyebrow. “You wanna be more specific?”

“I don't know,” Barry admits. “You seem a little…” He trails off, frowning. “Can I ask what brought this on?”

“Nothing brought this on,” Len doesn't _bristle_ , but his tone may be verging dangerously close to defensiveness. “If you don't want to go…”

“No, I do.” Barry kisses him again, and Len gets the terrible feeling it's meant to placate him. “I guess I'm a little surprised, but I shouldn't be.”

“Ah, right,” Len has to snort. “Us delinquents never go on dates, didn't you know? Unless they're heists. Museum robbery especially is seen as the height of romance.”

Barry swats at him lightly. “You're an ass, but point taken.”

“Although, _would_ you rob a museum with me if I told you it was a date?”

“ _No,_ " Barry laughs. “That's not what we're doing, is it?”

Len smirks at him. “I guess you'll see.”

Barry shoots him a look, perhaps aiming for admonishing, but the effect is ruined by the grin he tries to fight back. “I _guess_ I look forward to it then.”

Len is perhaps a little bit insistent on picking up Barry from his apartment (not that Barry minds; he seems amused more than anything, the little shit), because what the hell, if they’re doing this at all they're doing the whole routine. Say what you want about him, but Len doesn't half-ass anything.

He knocks on the door at eight PM sharp, and is fully prepared to wait for a few minutes, a quip about Barry never being on time already at the tip of his tongue. But the door opens immediately, and with the sight that greets him Len doesn't have the presence of mind to form coherent sentences, never mind anything that could pass as intelligent.

Two and some months together and all this time he's been unknowingly robbed of the goddamn work of art that is Barry Allen in a suit -- jesus christ, they should do this more often if he's always gonna dress like that.

“Hi,” Barry says with a smile, warm and a little skittish.

Len gathers himself and eyes Barry with a smirk. “Hi.”

“Are we gonna go? Or do you wanna come in?”

Barry doesn't sound nervous, exactly, just jittery. Cautiously excited, like he's trying to downplay it. Len’s smirk turns smug. For all his teasing, Barry really is looking forward to this, it seems.

Len inclines his head towards his parked car. “Ready when you are.”

Barry is out of the door almost before he's finished talking, grabbing Len’s hand and dragging him along.

“This is nice,” Barry announces as he settles into the passenger seat.

Len rolls his eyes. “This isn't much of anything yet,” he drawls.

Barry shrugs.

It's a quiet drive, save for the music playing on the radio, some oldies rock station. Even Barry’s less chatty than usual, but he can't quite keep the dopey grin off his face, so it's no cause for alarm. The silence feels comfortable, if anticipatory.

They reach the restaurant in less than twenty minutes. It's almost completely full, everyone dressed impeccably, laughter and chatter filling the room. Len places a hand on the small of Barry’s back as they make for their table, and Barry actually _shivers._

He doesn't know what to make of it, given that the touch was entirely innocent, but then right before they sit Barry leans over and kisses Len on the cheek quickly, almost _shyly_ , like he's not quite certain that he's allowed to.

It's the PDA thing, Len realises. For all that they're very openly, comfortably affectionate with each other, they're always either alone or in the company of the few close friends who know about them.  _This_ is uncharted territory.

And for all that this whole date business is for Barry’s sake, there's something undeniably satisfying in these two points of contact, his hand on Barry’s back and Barry’s lips on his cheek, a silent declaration to everyone in the room that they're together.

If the flush on Barry’s face and that ever-insistent grin is anything to go by, Barry likes it too. Maybe they really should make a habit of this.

* * *

  _Step three: expect the plan to go off the rails._

They've only just managed to order and sip a little bit of wine when Len notices the way the man in the table to their right reaches into his bag for something that he keeps carefully hidden in his lap. Not ten minutes ago he'd surprised his date with an engagement ring in her dessert; maybe she found the move as tacky as Len himself did, because she said no.

Christ, she could've choked on the damn thing.

With a flick of his wrist, Len drops his fork and leans down, taking his time to retrieve it while he gets a good look at what exactly the man is hiding. It's far less pleasant than his last surprise. When Len resurfaces with the fork, Barry is frowning at him quizzically.

“Gun,” Len says simply, inclining his head towards the man.

Barry pales, glancing rather unsubtly in that direction, and Len only sees the momentary blur as Barry moves because he's looking for it.

“I unloaded it,” Barry whispers. “But he doesn't know that, do you think he's gonna --”

“Oh, he's going to take the shot,” Len assures him. “He proposed; she turned him down. If that's how he handles rejection I can't say that I blame her. They've been fighting about it since.”

“You followed the whole conversation?”

“Gotta be mindful of your surroundings, and aren't you glad that I was?”

Barry nods absent-mindedly. “Okay, we gotta go. _You_ have to go, because attempted murder means police and I doubt you want to stick around for that.”

Len tilts his head in acknowledgement and they hurry outside, right as the waiter appears with their food. In retrospect, Len thinks, he should’ve gotten suspicious if only because of how well it was going so far.

“I'll be right back,” Barry promises as soon as they're out of the front door, and he kisses Len once before he disappears.

Len sighs, long-suffering. He takes the car a few blocks away and waits. Barry, he tells himself sternly, can handle it. Some idiot with an empty weapon is no match for the Flash.

He makes a show of checking his watch when Barry appears in the passenger seat, panting. “Went well?”

“He kept right on shooting,” Barry says in a rush of breath. “Even after the first one didn't fire, like he couldn't comprehend it. Then he lunged at her with the butter knife.”

“And you stopped him, obviously.”

“Yeah, dropped him off at the precinct. Few people got him on video, plenty of evidence, so I didn't feel too bad erasing the last few days worth of the restaurant’s security footage.”

Len grins approvingly. If he'd erased just today's, that might look suspicious, but this is making it look like an accident.

“Engaging in criminal activity, Barry? My my.”

Barry huffs unhappily. “Yeah, well. My boyfriend's sort of a notorious thief and I'd like him to stay out of jail. Besides, there's criminal, and then there's pure _evil_ like that guy in there.”

Len snorts. “ _I_ didn't like him, and that's saying something.”

“Yeah,” Barry agrees softly. “It says you're a good person.”

* * *

_Step four: throw away the plan._

Barry’s always half-starved after running, so they drive by Big Belly, order half the menu and eat in the car. Len feels restless so he starts the engine again and takes them to the outskirts of town as Barry systematically goes through four portions of french fries.

It's properly dark outside by the time they stop again, and Barry lowers the window and sticks his head out with a grin. Len enjoys the luxury of watching him without being watched in return, able to take in the picture unhurriedly.

“Hey.” Barry turns as if sensing Len’s eyes on him, suddenly looking serious and sincere. “I'm sorry our date got interrupted.”

Len frowns at him sceptically. “You're sorry a man tried to shoot his girlfriend and you stopped him?”

“You're an asshole,” Barry says with a sigh. “I'm just...it was obviously important to you so I'm sorry it didn't go according to plan, okay?”

Len’s frown deepens. “Me? This was about you.”

“Um, what,” Barry says eloquently. “I haven't been on... _that_ many dates, but I'm pretty sure they're supposed to be about the couple? Like both halves of it?”

“Yes,” Len agrees, “but.”

“But what?”

It's his turn to have trouble with words. “I'm -- _me._ ”

Barry laughs, the little shit. “Yeah, Len, you're you.”

“Criminal, asshole, heartless bastard,” Len feels obligated to remind him. “I don't care about _dates_.”

“Okay.” Barry nods agreeably, though he sounds far from convinced. “So you organised this whole thing for me, and you didn't actually wanna go.”

Well, no. That's not remotely true, but --

Len shrugs, the movement too sharp to be casual. “No strong feelings on the matter. Figured it was something you'd like.”

Barry snickers and holds out his hand to Len insistently, until Len gives in with a put-upon sigh and intertwines their fingers. Like that's not enough for him, Barry brings Len’s knuckles to his mouth to kiss them. Len looks away pointedly.

“Can you not just admit that you _really_ wanted to go on a date?” Barry asks him.

Did he? Well, shit. Can't let Mick catch wind of it. He's already teasing Len about going _soft_. All Barry’s fault, him and his terrible ploys to Make Len Feel Things.

“I can...neither confirm or deny that statement,” Len drawls.

“You're a giant sap,” Barry informs him, and presses their lips together before Len has the time to protest.

From that point on, it's a matter of priorities. Len _could_ break away to set the record straight, because he's been called many things in his life but a _sap_ is not one of them. _Or_ he could kiss Barry senseless, and Len opts for the latter.

Barry makes a high-pitched noise in the back of his throat, startled but not disapproving, and surges closer. Relishing in the reactions he's getting, Len licks into Barry’s mouth, cupping Barry’s face with both hands to keep him steady. The angle is awkward at best, both of them leaning sideways in their seats and still nowhere near close enough.

Len breaks the kiss, eliciting a whine from Barry, who tries to pull Len in again and ends up leaning too far, losing his balance. Len laughs quietly, grabbing Barry by the arm to keep him upright.

“Backseat?” Len suggests.

“I could get us home in less than fifteen seconds,” Barry counters, and it's tempting, but…

(Home, he said home, and Len’s not sure which of their apartments he was referring to, but Barry said _home_ ).

“I'm not leaving the car in the middle of nowhere at this hour,” Len protests. He grins. “Besides, where's your sense of adventure?”

“Oh.” Barry seems to consider it, taking a skittish look at their surroundings. It's deserted and dark besides, no real risk of being seen. Just the illusion of it, and Len thinks back to the PDA thing. Barry clears his throat. “Yeah, backseat works.”

They stumble out of the car but Len gets distracted, has to pin Barry against the door, tilting Barry’s head upwards with a hand under his jaw to suck a bruise low on his throat. Barry shudders and brings their mouths together again, hands tight on Len’s shoulders. It's only thanks to Len’s impeccable self-control that he manages to let go of Barry for long enough for the both of them to get back inside.

“You know,” Len muses, ghosting his fingers idly along the hem of Barry’s shirt, “maybe the little incident at the restaurant just means we have to repeat this. Doesn't properly count if we got interrupted, hmm?”

So he's being very unsubtle. Let Barry dare try to point it out.

Barry laughs. “I'd argue that dinner and making out in a car counts as a date. A pretty successful one, actually. But I'm all for going out again.”

Len hums. “Anything I can do to convince you it should be a museum robbery?”

“Really?” Barry pouts, his smile barely concealed. “Must you bring your work into this?”

And then Len laughs too, and let's Barry swallow the sound with a kiss. Well, not that he'd tell a soul, but maybe Len can appreciate the finer aspects of this whole date business.

**Author's Note:**

> I'm new to the fandom and to the ship, and all the fanfic I've read so far is incredible, so inevitably I feel like anything I might have to say has been written already. But hopefully y'all enjoy this even if it's not especially current (I'm not even through s2 of the flash god help me) or original.  
> I've proofread this, but that's absolutely not a guarantee there won't be mistakes, so if you see something, please let me know.


End file.
